The Black Cat
by AKAAkira
Summary: Kimihiro Watanuki has crossed a black cat, and you know what that means… bad luck! Yuuko-san offers him one way out…
1. Prologue

**Summary**: Kimihiro Watanuki has crossed a black cat, and you know what that means… bad luck! Yuuko-san offers him one way out…

Takes place before (SPOILER ALERT) Yuuko disappears and after the events of _The Fourth Apprentice_.

**Disclaimer: ****_xxxHolic_ belongs to CLAMP and _Warriors _belong to the authors collectively known as Erin Hunter. I own absolutely nothing in relation to either works**, except for the idea to mesh them together.

**Image was created via Paint (dot N E T) and an image from Wikipedia Commons (File:Chat noir (dot J P G)).  
**

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Prologue

_A black-haired, red-eyed beauty quietly smoked while watching the clock with great intensity. She had been sprawled on the sofa for many hours now, impatient for the trigger that would change the lives of unimaginably large numbers of lives, in this dimension and countless others._

_The clock ticked 11:55 PM._

_Her nemesis, Fei-Wang Reed – his power was growing. Soon he would be able to enlist help from others like him without the adherence to the laws of exchange._

It's too bad that there's at least one bad guy in each universe, _Yuuko thought, as she took a long drag out of her pipe. _At least Holly Short got that right.

_The clock ticked 11:56 PM._

_Yuuko was beginning to get agitated, a gesture quite unlike her. She had lived for many years to the point of being considered almost immortal. Patience was one of the things she had definitely acquired. But even her patience was failing her now. Too soon, she would cross the boundary, a daring characteristic she thought was only associated with Clow, and she was actually _eager_ to get going._

_The clock ticked 11:57 PM._

_Not long now. Not long until that thin, so thin line was crossed. She ran a mental list of who to call after this meeting one last time, then consoled herself by counting down the time left until _he_, her virtual equal, and envoy of another dimension, arrived._

_Five… four…three…two…one…_

_At 11:57:43 PM, the mental doorbell rang._

_Yuuko waved her hand, and suddenly a figure materialized next to her._

"_Welcome," Yuuko said, sitting up; the relief and welcome evident in her voice. "You have quite a playful signal. My head was _mem_ming when you arrived."_

"_You have an interesting signature yourself," the blue-skinned newcomer countered. He smiled and opened his palm, showing the contents to her. "An origami butterfly flying into private Zero-space and turning into a letter of invitation is new, even to me. Not to mention that it entered undetected, which is another first."_

_Yuuko allowed herself one grin, then got into business. "If you've read the letter, El –" _

"_My name," the other said, "is not to be uttered out loud. Who knows if _he_ could hear a word like a curse to him, even all these dimensions away?"_

_Yuuko nodded her head. "Agreed," she said. She sighed. "I envy your lack of limitations."_

"_We _do_ have limitations, although perhaps not as enormous as yours. Not to mention said limitations do not apply in another dimension until both parties are aware of its existence and another agreement is made. A loophole I intend to exploit. However, I ought to be jealous of _you_. You have so much more power then me, perhaps even more than both of us combined."_

_Yuuko grinned again as the clock moved to 11: 59 PM, and then she got serious again. "We can save all of our discussions for later. We have something a little bit more important to do."_

"_You hinted as much in the letter, though you were not very clear. Am I right in thinking that it that preludes the merge of dimensions?"_

"_That's true," Yuuko confirmed. "And before you ask anymore questions, I think by 12:01 AM you will have all of your answers."_

_The clock struck 12:00 AM._

_A new voice was heard._

"_I am a representative of StarClan," the voice purred. "Is this the den of the Dimensional Witch?"_


	2. White Cat

**Summary**: Kimihiro Watanuki has crossed a black cat, and you know what that means… bad luck! Yuuko-san offers him one way out…

Takes place before (SPOILER ALERT) Yuuko disappears and after the events of _The Fourth Apprentice_.

**Disclaimer: ****_xxxHolic_ belongs to CLAMP and _Warriors _belong to the authors collectively known as Erin Hunter. I own absolutely nothing in relation to either works**, except for the idea to mesh them together.

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Chapter One – White cat

"Why," I fumed, "do I have to clean your dark, _stupid_, _dirty_, _dark_, BORING and – did I mention dark? – SHED, Doumeki!" I was really thinking about smashing a hole in the creepy old building with my broom.

The other occupant of the shed turned and looked at me. "What?" he asked, looking and sounding unconcerned, "afraid of the dark, Watanuki?"

"No!" I cried. "But while I waste time doing this menial, back-breaking, boring work –" "You already said boring," Doumeki interrupted, going back to devouring the food _I_ made – "requested by – no, _ordered_ by – Yuuko-san, so that I can pay off what I owe you for _saving my neck_ –" I was being sarcastic there – "cute Himawari-chan's spending _two hours_ by herself with no one to comfort her! Think of how lonely and scared she must be," I sobbed, "being in the dangerous shopping district with no one she knows!"

"You should have mentioned that. I could've gone with her." Doumeki finished his soup and proceeded onto the fish.

He was being sarcastic. I hope.

I vented my anger at him anyways. "You?" I scoffed. "_You_ think you're deserving of the honour of accompanying Himawari-chan to the sacred grounds of the shopping district? As if!"

"I thought you said the shopping district supposed to be dangerous."

"Aaaahhh!" I yelled, throwing up my hands in frustration. "It is soooo _annoying_ talking to you!"

"Will you be quiet? I'm trying to eat here."

"And the food!" I continued, still ranting. "Every single day, I make food for you to eat, and it's _always_ stuff that's hard to find or expensive! Just yesterday, you asked for shark. _Shark_! Do you know how much more Yuuko-san added onto my tab _again_ for giving me the shark? _I_ don't, and I don't _want_ to know!"

Doumeki was sticking one finger in his ear and eating at the same time, and that only made me all the more angrier.

I continued: "Then I spend half the night yesterday cooking the shark, with Maru and Moro both trying to take a piece of cooked shark when I wasn't looking, and today, when you come over to eat, Yuuko-san says that the dinner wasn't enough, and I still have to clean you stupid, dark _shed_!"

"If you have any more left over, make me some more of this tomorrow."

"And _still_ not even _one_ word of thanks!"

"My, my," said an amused voice, "your over dramatization is quite interesting to see."

Doumeki snapped his head up, his hands moving towards his bow. I, unfortunately, did not keep my cool. I yelped, dropping the broom, and stumbled backwards, crashing noisily on the floor.

"Be quiet!" Doumeki hissed, already grabbing his bow and notching it with an arrow.

"Who's there?" I asked bravely from the floor, backing up slowly. "And why were you watching us?"

There was no answer. Doumeki did not relax. "Can you see anything?" he asked me.

My special vision, though unwanted, can see ghosts. Doumeki didn't have this ability, so it was up to me to see if the coast was clear. I took a careful look around, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

"N-Nothing," I said shakily. I repeated my thought. "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

"Do you know if any spirits could hide themselves from your vision?"

"No, and Yuuko-san never mentioned anything like that. B-But that's no guarantee that it can't happen." By now the old shed went up several hundred percent in the creepy scale. "I-I think the shed's clean enough to call it quits for today. Let's go."

Doumeki showed no signs of moving. His eyes swept over the contents of the shed – me, the broom, a couple of crates (that held wine), the dust-filled other half of the room that I hadn't gotten to yet, and finally me again. He spoke with no emotion: "Who's there? Show yourself now!"

I saw a flicker of movement in the shadows. Doumeki immediately turned and fired. _Twang_!

There was no arrow in his bow.

"What…?" Doumeki muttered, distracted. I was surprised too.

"Oh, great, Doumeki, just the time to forget to notch an arrow," I said sarcastically. But I knew the truth, and so did he.

Both of us immediately started backing up to the door while Doumeki notched another arrow.

"You know, it already made one arrow disappear," I pessimistically reminded him. "Most ghosts I encounter can only attach themselves to someone and bog them down. If it's that powerful, we may as well make a run for it."

Doumeki looked uncertain for a moment, and then agreed. Both of us dashed out of the shed.

"Yuuko-san's shop should have protective wards on it!" I shouted at Doumeki. _I hope it's strong enough_, I added silently. Both of us quickly passed by his house, ran down the street, and fled to the general direction of Yuuko-san's house where, hopefully, protection and answers were located.

I was scared. I didn't know what I had encountered. I turned my head backwards constantly. _No one is chasing us, no one is chasing us…_ I thought constantly, trying to believe it.

"Almost there!" I breathlessly shouted at Doumeki. I faced forward again, and no one was in sight. "Doumeki?"

I stopped. I was still scared. It was made worse by the fact that this was a street I was completely unfamiliar with. The walls on either side of the street seemed especially menacing in my situation.* *(a/n Remember, the setting is in Japan, it is common for personal property in suburban areas to be surrounded by a stone wall.)

"Doumeki?" I called out again, trying to sound brave. There was no response.

I briefly considered climbing up the stone wall and risk crossing someone else's property, but decided that was behaviour befitting Doumeki. I instead decided to retrace my steps, hoping now more than ever that whatever happened at Doumeki's shed was nothing more than a trick of the eyes and ears.

It was starting to get dark; I did some quick arithmetic in my head. I had arrived at Doumeki's house with him sometime around six-thirty PM; worked to death for about fifteen minutes; and that meant it was sometime around six forty-five PM. I had to find my way back quickly, but my backwards progress was hindered by the fact I was feeling more and more lost. I almost didn't _want_ to go back; whatever talked to me and Doumeki today was definitely powerful.

I eventually encountered a fork on the road. On one hand, I had turned many times in my desperate attempt to get away, so turning to the right might bring me back to a familiar street. But on the other hand, I definitely feel like I've seen the street straight ahead in the past. I even thought I had seen one of the houses before. It was an enticing thought to walk up to the house and check.

_Naughty Watanuki!_ Yuuko-san's voice rang in my head. _Of course the house would feel familiar if someone _cursed_ you to enter the house_.

I gulped and chose to go right.

After several seconds of walking when nothing was becoming familiar, I got more frustrated. I decided the next time I turn I would peek around the corner and, if nothing still was familiar, I would go back and take my chances with the "enchanted" house (gulp!).

Almost hesitantly, I reached the intersection and peeked past.

Bingo! _This_ street I was definitely familiar with. I hurried forward now, sure of where I'm going, turned to the left, and tripped over a black cat that tried to run away when I approached.

"Ow!" I yelped angrily as I landed on my hands and scraped them. The cat ran away.

I turned to glare at the cat but froze. The house! It was just to the right of me, the gate open slightly.

Now I'm really freaked out. The black cat, the open gate, the house appearing magically in front of me _twice?_ I really _was_ cursed!

I got to my feet and flew like the wind.

* * *

I pretty much sprinted into the shop with my shoes on.

I collapsed in a heap, huffing and puffing, besides Doumeki and Yuuko.

"Oh look, the idiot's finally here," Doumeki said.

"Great! We can finally have snacks!" Yuuko-san said joyously. She turned to someone I didn't know; a customer? "Do you mind speaking to me tomorrow? There's a bed prepared for you down the hall."

"Don't forget the alcohol!" Mokona, the tiny, black rabbit-like thing with a big mouth, chirped as the stranger left.

"I…" I tried to speak while wheezing and clutching my sides. "I think …I'm …cursed."

Yuuko-san laughed delightedly and clapped her hands together. "From what Doumeki tells me, the visitor you had in your shed is a friend of mine. Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

"If Watanuki need protection, Mokona will protect you!" yelled Mokona.

Normally I would've been extremely annoyed at that. Today wasn't normal, even by my standards.

"No…" I said, still gasping and clutching my sides. "Coming… back… there was… a house… appeared twice in front of me… and it even had a black cat…"

Yuuko-san looked up, serious. "A black cat? Did it cross your path?"

She misunderstood. "No! Well, yes, but I think I've been cursed to go into a house that appeared twice in front of me!"

Yuuko-san examined me carefully, and said: "Whatever you said you've been cursed with, the black cat's curse is affecting you badly. It's even possible that the cat's curse has taken precedence, if you were already cursed."

The way she spoke drained my face of all colour. I could tell because I became light-headed. "What… what's the price for removing the curse?"

Yuuko-san smirked. "Luckily for you, you don't have to ask _me_ to get rid of this curse. It's fairly easy for such a powerful curse. Doumeki can tell you."

"All you need materially is a living white cat," Doumeki said, "if you can find one, of course."


	3. Whitestorm

**Disclaimer: **_**xxxHolic**_** belongs to CLAMP and **_**Warriors **_**belong to the authors collectively known as Erin Hunter. I own absolutely nothing in relation to either works, except for the idea to mesh them together.**

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Chapter Two – Whitestorm

"A white cat?" I asked doubtfully. "Isn't that a bit _too_ easy?"

Yuuko-san laughed. "Naughty child. Weren't you listening? This curse is powerful, but easily broken. Continue, Doumeki."

"You also need the location," Doumeki said. "Exactly where it happened is important, as well as exactly what happened. In other words, you and the white cat must be in the exact spot you and the black cat were in when the first incident occurred. Then, the white cat must move in a way that is similar to how the black cat crossed your path."

"You call that EASY!" I exclaimed at Yuuko-san.

She shrugged. "Comparatively."

I sighed, frustrated, and said: "Back up for a moment. You said I had to be _exactly_ where I was when the black cat crossed my path? What if I don't remember?"

"You spend the rest of your life cursed with powerful bad luck," Doumeki said indifferently.

I groaned. "So I _have_ to remember to get rid of this curse."

"Can't you tell us what you've seen while you where running away pathetically from my friend?" Yuuko-san suggested.

"I wasn't running away pathe –"

Yuuko-san said, "Just get on with it!"

I growled. But I recounted my tactical retreat. "Once I lost Doumeki, I started retracing my steps and eventually came to a fork on the road. One of the houses straight ahead looked tempting to enter, so I immediately assumed that it had some kind of enchantment or curse on it that made me _want_ to enter."

"Suspicious, aren't you." Yuuko-san laughed.

"I learned that from you," I said stiffly. I continued: "So I turned right instead. I walked along that street for a couple of meters, and then it forced me to turn left. When I did, I finally recognized a street in front of me, so I hurried forward, and to come here, I turned left, and then I took one step and the cat was suddenly running in my path, and I tripped over it, skinned my hand –" at this point I raised my hand to show them – "and then when I looked up to the right, where the cat went, the house was right there! Its gate was even slightly open. Like it wanted me to come inside, or was expecting me. And the black cat was just sitting right in front of the house. I'm still sure it's cursed."

Yuuko-san took two seconds reflecting on what I just told her.

Then she suddenly started laughing so hard I jumped.

"Ha-ha," Yuuko-san just laughed. "ha-ha-ha-ha…!"

"What's so funny?" I angrily tried to interrupt her.

It took Yuuko-san thirty full seconds to recover, and by that time she claimed her cheeks where hurting and she needed alcohol. I replied that she had enough for the day, and I was not about to give her any more without an explanation, at which point she stuck her tongue out at me.

She said: "Alright, Watanuki, tell me this: if there is a square with points A, B, C, and D in that order, and you start from point A, how many ways can you go to point B?"

I blinked. A math question wasn't what I expected. "Well, you have to go straight from A to B, don't you?"

I got more annoyed when Yuuko-san giggled infuriatingly. "Watanuki, you're being too straightforward. Even if it takes longer, you can still just go around, can't you?"

I frowned for one moment, and then suddenly it hit me. Hard.

Yuuko-san laughed even more at my expression. "Let's say the house is point B on the square," she said to my ever-reddening face. "If you're on point A, of course you'll be able to see it, because there's a straight path from A to B. But at the same time, if you turn right to point D, then turn left and arrive at point C, then turn left again, it's no wonder you ended up at the same point B. The street system in Japan is mostly grid-based, remember?"

Mokona laughed as well. "Watanuki! That was so obvious!"

"Shut up! You didn't get it until she explained either!"

"It's no wonder he can't keep up in class," Doumeki said.

"You shut up too! You shouldn't be talking!"

The worst bit came when Maru and Moro came in.

"Watanuki's it, the ca-ter-pit!" Maru sang.

"He's a really big i-di-ot!" Moro finished.

That did it for conversations that night. I marched straight into the guest room in the shop and slammed the door closed.

"Frustrated?" soft voice said from the darkness of the room.

I yelped. I forgot about the customer.

"I don't blame you," he went on, "but just remember that things could be a lot worse and just because you messed up once, doesn't mean you have to prove something immediately to make up for it."

I blinked. He had a kind, but wistful, voice. "Th-thank you," I stammered.

I excused myself and as I exited the room, he said, "Just be careful of not to get tangled in the black cat's bad luck."

I glanced at him. Sitting on the bed, he had tight-fitting white shirt and some kind of cut-off of what must once have been a shiny black overcoat.

And a tattoo on his chest that said XIII.

As I hurried over to the _other_ guest room, another thought hit me: he must have especially keen senses if he could hear our conversation from where he was.

* * *

The next day I was feeling much better. I walked out of the second guest room, and tripped over Maru and Moro.

"What the – what are you to doing here?"

"Listening to you snore!" Maru and Moro said at the same time, and giggled.

I was really tempted to go back to my bed, even more so when I accidentally banged my foot on the door into the dining room.

"Oh, here you are, Watanuki!" Yuuko-san said with a smile. "Go make me some omelettes!"

I growled, but complied. Ten minutes later Yuuko-san was eating six ounces of omelette while I had a phone book in my lap.

Yuuko-san glanced over at the page I was on and smirked. "You won't find the white cat you need in a pet store, Watanuki."

I looked up, startled, and asked: "What do you mean?"

"Let _me_ ask you a question first, Watanuki. On a scale of one to ten, where one is dull black and ten is shiny black, what would you rate the cat that crossed your path last night?"

That was definitely an odd question. "I would rate the cat one. Its fur was really, really dull… a lot unlike other black cats I've seen. Now that I think about it, I don't think hair is supposed to be that dull."

Yuuko-san nodded. "So you need a total antithesis to such a spi – I mean, such a ragged-looking cat."

I frowned. "Such as?"

Yuuko-san had a wide smile on her face. "A spirit of a cat, of course."

"But Doumeki said I needed a _living_ white cat," I protested.

"Well, he was wrong. I was going to correct him last night, except of course for your sulking."

"I was not –"

"In any case, for that small correction, I want to eat spaghetti with meatballs for lunch today!" Yuuko-san sang, "Accompanied by lots and lots of wine!"

I rolled my eyes, but didn't complain this time. I could've been charged for a lot worse, like the shark dinner I had to make Doumeki.

"So, if you don't mind… where would I find the ghost of a white cat?"

"The _spirit_ of a white cat," Yuuko-san corrected me. "And I'll bet that I can find one in the parking lot by the mall that your beloved Himawari-chan was at yesterday."

"What would a _spirit_ of a white cat want to do in a parking lot?"

"You could ask him, if you like."

I blinked. "Do you know this spirit?"

Yuuko-san examined her trimmed nails carefully. "Do I?"

I growled again. This wasn't getting me anywhere. I stood up. "I'll be going now then."

Yuuko-san had that all-too-familiar smile on her face. "Go on."

Annoyed, I was about to go, but then I remembered something. "Wait. What about that customer of yours that came yesterday?"

"He already left, don't worry about him."

I was surprised. Yuuko-san usually made me do the dirty work.

"I know what you're thinking," Yuuko-san warned. "Don't think like that."

"What the – now you're a psychic too?"

Yuuko-san winked. "Who knows?"

Fearing for my sanity, I left.

* * *

I arrived at the shopping mall forty minutes later on foot.

In truth, I would've liked to use my bicycle, except for the fact that it had a flat tire. As fixing punctured tires are _not_ one of my specialties, I decided to go on foot, which turned out to be a mistake, because it was utterly exhausting.

Today I was without Doumeki so that I could actually see the spirit. Although, I was still confused as to _what_ a white cat's spirit would be doing here. After all, a cat likes mice more than cars. Then again, if the cat knew Yuuko-san, it definitely wasn't a normal cat, to say the least.

After taking a careful look around the parking lot, I concluded that I must be insane. There was _no way_ that a cat could come in here. Although most of the time Yuuko-san was right, I couldn't see what the cat would be doing in here, unless it wanted to look at cars. After all, there was no food, no trees, and probably not even any mice. Deciding that I was probably wasting my time, I started to move toward the stairway.

And _then_ I saw it. Great, just when I gave up.

It was obviously a spirit; it was shining so distinctly white I wondered how I could've missed it. Its entire being was covered in points of light, like being made up of stars. It smoothly lifted a paw, licked at it, and then touched the windshield of the car that it was sitting on.

I still wondered at its fascination with cars.

But more importantly, this cat would be the key to getting rid of the so-called "curse".

I regretted thinking that almost at once when I heard a screech of tires. I yelped and jumped forwards, banging my head on the bumper in front of me, just as a car came roaring down the pathway, missing me and the other cars in the lot by mere ten centimetres.

The white cat yowled in surprise, its fur sticking straight out, and jumped higher up onto the roof of the car. "Keep away, monster!" it screeched.

Well, I nearly got run over, and all I could say was: "You can _speak_?"

The cat turned to me, in even further surprise: "You can _see_ me?"

And I, ever the idiot, replied: "You can _hear_ me?" (Well, after all, this is the first non-humanlike spirit to ever see me without trying to latch itself on me. Blame me for thinking none of them can hear me.)

"You can _understand_ me?" the cat replied incredulously.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, this is officially getting us nowhere."

The cat was trying to flatten its fur. "I agree."

"Let's introduce ourselves first." I smiled and held out my hand. "I'm Kimihiro Watanuki."

The cat licked my hand in return. "I am called Whitestorm."

* * *

_**A/N For the parking lot scene - I mean more like parking **_**buildings_, not just an open pavement of lined space. Just to be clear._**


	4. White Day

**Disclaimer: _xxxHolic_ belongs to CLAMP and _Warriors _belong to the authors collectively known as Erin Hunter. I own absolutely nothing in relation to either works, except for the idea to mesh them together.**

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Chapter Three – White Day

"Let me get this straight," Whitestorm said after I finished explaining why I needed his help. "Twolegs in general are so superstitious that crossing paths with a black cat makes you believe yourselves as unlucky, and to counter this so-called curse you need to cross paths with a _white_ cat that has to move in the same manner and at the same location where the black cat originally crossed your path?"

"Well… yeah," I said, painfully aware that a black cat's curse only affects humans, and probably only because humans are so superstitious in the first place. Like Yuuko-san said, humans are the strange creatures.

The white cat looked utterly confused (well, as confused as a cat can look to a human) but did not refuse to help. He accompanied me on the almost one hour walk to the street where the black cat first crossed my path, and during that time he talked about his home.

"In my world," Whitestorm said, "there are four Clans living in the same area, although we recently found another Tribe that lives in the mountains. Each clan is named after its original leaders: ThunderClan after Thunder, WindClan after Wind, RiverClan after River, and ShadowClan after Shadow."

"But wait," I interrupted, "why would there have to be four clans? Wouldn't it be easier to live if the whole community of cats lived together?"

Whitestorm shook his head. "There have always been four clans, and there will always be four clans. Each clan specialize in something different and lives in different conditions. RiverClan, for example, lives by the river and has much better swimmer cats than the other clans. As well, we become stronger when we have others to compete with. Look at your own world; if merging together as one was that easy, would there still be so many countries? We only help each other if we have to."

I nodded. It made sense. "Which Clan are you in, Whitestorm?"

"Which Clan I _was_ in," Whitestorm corrected me. "I'm a spirit now, so I belong with StarClan, but I used to be in ThunderClan."

"So there's another Clan for the cat's spirits?"

"Yes, StarClan is made up of deceased cats from all four Clans. They – that is, my Clan mates and I – live up in the sky, and each star represents one fallen warrior."

I decided not to mention that each star was really just a ball of nuclear fusion, in case he would be offended.

"StarClan's duty is mainly to help those still living," Whitestorm continued, "by communicating the medicine cats and telling them of our knowledge. This is usually all we need to avoid a potential disaster, but now…"

His voice trailed off, and I suddenly knew.

"Now, there's a problem, or there's going to be a problem, that even StarClan can't solve," I completed, "so you asked the Dimensional Witch for help."

Whitestorm responded in an uneasy manner. "There's a legend in StarClan that we did not always have a voice, but the Dimensional Witch gave it to us. As well, the legend also states that we will need her help once again, and it turned out to be true."

"But how did you know where she was?"

"Apparently all I had to do was to follow the red butterfly, and that also turned out to be true."

Another thought struck me. "So it _was_ her who told you to stay around the parking lot!" I fumed angrily. I could've saved myself a lot of pain in the form of _walking_ if she –

"Actually, no. I asked her for directions to the closest den of monsters – I mean, cars, and came here myself."

"Oh." I frowned. "Why are you so fascinated with cars?"

"Because I really couldn't believe that a monster – sorry, a car, is not dangerous. After all, compared to a _cat_'s size…"

I laughed. "Cars really are monsters."

"It's not just that," Whitestorm continued defensively. "A monster could kill a cat if it hits the cat."

I stopped laughing and winced. "A car could kill a human, too, if it hits the human," I said, "so I suppose cats must be smarter, to stay away from the cars."

Whitestorm let out an amused purr.

"By the way, how come you know so much about human society?"

Whitestorm responded, this time in an embarrassed manner. "Oh, well, I… was sort of interested. One of the cats in ThunderClan… he's the leader now, but he used to be a kittypet – excuse me, a cat owned by a human. I was wondering exactly how humans and cats interact, so… I started studying humans if I could spare the time, much to the dismay of my StarClan clan mates. We are supposed to be looking after our own Clans, after all, not doing whatever we please."

I started laughing again. "Well, it all turned out for the best, didn't it, since you were the one to come in contact with the Dimensional Witch."

"That's true. If any other StarClan cat came, I doubt they could stand being in the same room as your employer. Being confined in a Twoleg room is bad enough, talking with an eccentric…" Whitestorm shook his head. "Your employer is very interesting, I'll give you that much, Wata-nuki."

"Thank you. I think we're here."

The scene of the road was almost the exact same as how it looked in my memory. I noticed with some amusement and embarrassment that the "cursed" house I had seen before now had the voices of several children playing.

"The first black cat was sitting around… here," I said, pointing to a spot on the road. "I came around the corner like this –" I demonstrated – "and then I took a step forward, and then the black cat just sort of darted forward, and I tripped over it."

"Darted out – like this?" Whitestorm asked, neatly jumping forward (or, in my case, to the right).

"Yeah, like that." I frowned. "It can't possibly be that easy, is it?"

"Can you tell if the curse is lifted?"

"I don't think so."

"Tell me, do Twolegs in general consider it unlucky if bird droppings hit your head?"

"What? Well, some people think it's _supposed_ to be lucky, but I'm not so…" and then I got the hint. I hurled myself to the left, hitting my head _again_ on the stone wall while bird droppings hit the spot where I was only a few seconds ago.

"I believe we can assume we did not follow the proper procedure, then," Whitestorm remarked calmly.

"Yep," I agreed, massaging my head.

"Can you tell me _exactly_ how the first incident happened?"

Hey, I like this guy – or, cat. He was authoritative, but dependable, thoughtful, and definitely not bossy, unlike a certain _witch_ that I know. "The first time I came through this section, like I told you, I turned this corner and took one step. The black cat just jumped like it was frightened, and then I trip –"

"Wait a minute," Whitestorm interrupted. "Do you think that the fact that the first cat jumped away _frightened_ is an important part of removing the curse?"

Now I'm impressed. He asks for his partner's opinions and takes them into consideration, much unlike my current employer. "That's possible. But if that's true, then how are we supposed to make _you_ jump away in a frightened manner?"

Even as I said it, I suddenly felt a breeze on the back of my back. So faint, so faint, that I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been thinking about it.

I turned.

The blinding headlights. The roar of the engines. And the driver, asleep behind the wheel.

Behind me, Whitestorm gave a caterwaul and immediately sprang off to the side of the road. "Watanuki!" he screeched. "Move!"

I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't hear. I could only see, and feel.

This was actually a good thing, because I felt the curse breaking.

I finally gave an involuntary gasp and flung myself sideways to Whitestorm, hitting my whole body this time on the wall. The driver, luckily, woke up and stomped on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt just before it could crash. When he completely stopped, he started driving again much more slowly down the road.

He didn't see me.

"Watanuki?" Whitestorm asked in a worried tone. "Are you all right? Any injuries?"

I gave him a shaky smile and a thumbs-up, completely forgetting he wouldn't know what it meant. "Oh, just fine," I said giddily, dimly aware that I was in shock. "Whitestorm, do you know what day it is today?"

I think he looked confused, but went along with it. "No, what day is it?"

"White Day," I babbled, "when men and boys gives chocolates to women and girls as a sign of love. There's this girl I really like," I droned on, "her name's Himawari-chan and she's really, really cute. I even made some chocolate for her today, want to see?"

Before Whitestorm could respond I brought out a small packet of chocolates that I left in my pockets. An infinitesimal part of me that was still thinking remembered I actually had made it earlier as a snack, and this wasn't the chocolate I meant to give to Himawari-chan, but the my idiot side was dominant right now.

My face fell. "Oh, no, it's crushed."

"I'm… sorry?" Whitestorm said hesitantly, probably totally confused about what was happening.

I didn't respond for several seconds, and then brightened up. "I know! You can have it!"

For the third time since I met him, he lost his composure. "E-excuse me?" he sputtered in surprise.

Well, the side that was still thinking thought, _White Day is meant to give presents to _girls_. Did he just took offence right here? I don't even know._

And:_ Does he even know what chocolate is? Can he even _eat_ it?_

My idiot side said, "It's a thank-you gift!" Beaming, I also added, "and I'm sure you can eat it. It's very sweet, like honey. You might not be able to chew it but just leave it in you mouth for a while and it'll melt and give you the taste."

Wow. My idiot side was smarter than I thought.

Whitestorm hesitated for a moment, and then accepted my gift. "Thank you," he said awkwardly around the bag in his mouth. Probably, no other cat had _ever_ been put into a situation like this. But I'm sure he was happy, and so was I.

"You're a good friend, Whitestorm," I said, now sleepy, "I hope you'll come back and see me again after this…"

I gave a huge yawn and closed my eyes.


	5. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **_**xxxHolic**_** belongs to CLAMP and **_**Warriors **_**belong to the authors collectively known as Erin Hunter. I own absolutely nothing in relation to either works, except for the idea to mesh them together.**

* * *

Epilogue

_Yuuko Ichihara drank the remainder of her wine in a single gulp, setting down the glass and looking at her blue-skinned guest._

"_Come on, drink," she said as she poured herself another full glass of wine from the bottle._

_The stranger smiled. "Why would you want to give me something I can't even digest?" he asked._

_Yuuko rolled her eyes. "Just because you can't really digest it doesn't mean you can't taste it, you should know that. As for the why – it's payment. This is one of my most expensive wine in my collection, and it's payment for talking to Watanuki."_

"_Ah, yes," he responded, while relenting and lifting his glass up to his lips. "You told me to talk to the boy and his friends that day but did not tell me why. Care to elaborate?"_

"_The black cat." Yuuko became serious immediately at her counterpart's remark. "It was sent by Fei-Wang Reed. If you hadn't scared him and sent him immediately to me, the curse would have taken a longer time to do its work and may have killed him before Whitestorm could remove it."_

"_That makes me feel better. I thought I sent him straight into the black cat."_

"_He would have encountered the black cat anyways. The cat was making its way to Doumeki's shed where he was cleaning, and tripped him at the doorway. Or at least, it would've happened like that without you in the equation."_

"_You should've explained this to me. I know you're my superior but I haven't been bossed around at all for several hundred million years."_

_Yuuko immediately became playful again. "You're going to have to get used to it," she laughed, then downed another glass of wine. "Now that you know how this business works, you should talk to Nao, and tell her the situation. I'm sure she knows something's off with the world already, but we'll need to give her our business card."_

_The guest smiled and said slightly sarcastically: "I'm on it, your majesty."_

_There was a flash of light, and he and his glass was gone._

"_How do you do, Whitestorm?" Yuuko asked without bothering to turn._

"_Very well," the white cat responded in a muffled voice. "Your employee is sleeping on the side of a road; you may want to retrieve him soon."_

_Yuuko glanced at the cat as he leaped onto the table and set down his package. "Watanuki gave this to me," he explained, untying it with his teeth. "I wanted to know if this would inadvertently terminate our exchange, seeing as this could be considered my price for removing his curse."_

_Yuuko laughed. "Watanuki's chocolates are truly divine," she said, helping herself to a piece of the crushed chocolate, "and generally it's enough to pay for most wishes he has. But it makes no difference in this transaction. The power to send people across dimensions is too pricey for the chocolate. And generally, it would be too pricey for a humble cat like yourself, as well, if it wasn't for the fact that Watanuki needed your assistance badly."_

_Whitestorm questioned, "So Watanuki is very important to the future, then?"_

"_Very," Yuuko confirmed. "Oh, and your payment will be forwarded through the Ellimist, but I have no guarantee of when it'll arrive."_

_There was silence for a moment._

"_These chocolates really _are_ good," Whitestorm said._

_Yuuko grinned. But then she got serious again. "Have you noticed, that the other cat…"_

_Whitestorm growled. "I know," he said. "When Watanuki told me the motion has to be similar, and when the curse broke when I was frightened away… if our motions, that is, this black cat's and mine, are so similar, that can only mean one thing."_

"_This cat is also from your world. Maybe even from ThunderClan."_

"_So this black cat is the one that made a deal with this devil, as the Twoleg term goes." Whitestorm muttered. "What a curious coincidence."_

"_Didn't I tell you this already? There is no coincidence in this world. There is only hitsuzen."_


End file.
